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CHILDREN’S  COTTAGE 

WITH 

OUTDOOR  SLEEPING  PORCHES 


Russell  Sage  Foundation 
Department  of  Child-Helping 

105  East  Twenty-Second  St. 

New  York 

1912 


PLANS  FOR  A 'CHILDREN'S  COTTAGE  WITH 
OUTDOOR  SLEEPING  PORCHES 

AT  LEAST  one-half  of  all  children  sent  to  juvenile  re- 
formatories, orphan  asylums,  etc.,  are  physically  defec- 
tive, either  because  of  bad  heredity,  or  because  of  poor 
feeding  and  unfavorable  environment. 

Many  of  these  children  are  taken  from  insanitary  surround- 
ings of  homes,  and  are  put  into  dormitories  in  a congregate 
building.  These  dormitories  have  usually  insufficient  ventila- 
tion and  sunlight.  They  are  often  placed  on  one  side  of  the 
building,  where  cross  ventilation  cannot  be  secured,  and  they 
are  so  built  that  window  ventilation  cannot  be  had  without  a 
direct  draft  upon  the  heads  of  the  sleepers.  It  is  a common 
thing  to  find  the  sanitary  conditions  in  such  dormitories  quite  as 
bad  as  in  the  homes  from  which  these  unfortunate  children  come. 
The  practice  is  now  well  established  of  providing  outdoor 
sleeping  porches,  not  only  for  tubercular  patients  and  patients 
suffering  from  pneumonia,  but  also  for  crippled,  deformed  and 
anemic  children,  who  are  either  sick  or  physically  defective, 
yet  these  children  sleep  with  impunity  in  the  open,  not  only 
without  deleterious  effects,  but  with  great  delight  and  benefit. 

If  sick  people  and  feeble  anemic  children  can  sleep  in  the 
open  air  with  beneficial  effects,  what  is  to  prevent  the  adoption 
of  the  same  method  for  healthy  growing  children?  It  is 
proposed,  that  in  building  institutions  for  children,  arrange- 
ments shall  be  made  for  outdoor  sleeping  porches  for  at 
least  25  per  cent  of  the  children.  It  is  believed  that  this 

2 


BAECHTOLD, 


method  might  be  profitably  adopted  for  the  entire  institution 
population. 

Plans  have  been  prepared  by  Hastings  H.  Hart,  director 
of  the  Department  of  Child-Helping  of  the  Russell  Sage  Founda- 
tion, with  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Robert  W.  Gardner,  of  New 
York,  Architect,  for  a cottage  to  accommodate  twenty  children, 
with  four  outdoor  sleeping  porches  for  five  children  each,  and  with 
indoor  dressing-rooms,  bathrooms,  study,  dining  room,  kitchen, 
and  apartments  for  house  father  and  house  mother.  Should 
these  plans  be  used  for  a juvenile  reformatory  cottage,  the  sleep- 
ing porches  can  be  protected  by  steel  lattice  work,  if  desired, 
but  it  is  believed  that  most  superintendents  would  prefer  to  build 
them  without  such  protection,  relying  upon  the  moral  force  of  the 
institution,  or  locking  up  the  day  clothes  of  the  boys  at  night. 

Plans  for  sleeping  porches  have  been  prepared  under  the 
advice  of  the  National  Association  for  the  Study  and  Prevention 
of  Tuberculosis.  The  porches  have  been  arranged  in  two  stories, 
in  order  to  bring  the  children  under  the  close  supervision  of  the 
house  father  and  house  mother.  They  have  been  so  arranged, 
with  reference  to  the  sitting  room  and  bedroom  of  those  officers, 
that  the  officers  can  observe  each  of  the  four  sleeping  porches 
at  all  hours  of  the  night,  without  leaving  their  apartment.  The 
electric  lights  on  the  porches  will  be  controlled  from  the  centre. 

The  ready  observation  of  the  four  sleeping  porches  is  pro- 
vided for  by  setting  the  apartments  of  the  officers  on  a different 
level  from  those  of  the  children,  in  order  to  enable  them  to 
CD  command  a view  of  two  floors  at  once. 

On  the  ground  floor  are  provided  two  dressing  rooms  with 
locker,  baths  and  lavatories,  for  ten  children  each.  From  the 
dressing  rooms,  two  stairways  lead  to  the  first  floor  sleeping 
porches.  A night  toilet  is  located  adjacent  to  each  sleeping 
porch,  within  the  walls  of  the  central  building  in  order  to  avoid 
danger  of  freezing. 


3 


First  Floor  — Sleeping  Porches,  Dressing  Rooms,  Dining  Room,  Kitchen 


On  the  same  level  with  the  first  floor  sleeping  porches  are 
provided  kitchen,  pantry  and  dining  room  for  twenty-two 
persons;  the  intention  being  to  make  this  cottage  an  independent 
domestic  establishment,  the  work  of  which  will  be  performed  by 
the  cottage  mother,  with  the  assistance  of  the  children.  Im- 
mediately above  the  dressing  rooms  are  the  sitting  room  and 
bedroom  of  the  cottage  officers.  These  two  rooms  are  supplied 
with  large  front  windows,  and  are  so  arranged  that  cross  ven- 
tilation can  be  provided. 

Four  feet  higher  than  the  officers’  rooms  are  the  second 
floor  sleeping  porches,  and,  on  the  same  level,  the  children’s 
study,  arranged  with  windows  on  three  sides,  looking  east,  north 
and  west.  The  study  immediately  adjoins  the  officers’  apart- 
ments, and  will  be  overlooked  therefrom.  By  this  arrangement 
the  house  mother,  without  leaving  her  own  apartment,  can 
have  immediate  supervision  over  the  four  sleeping  rooms  and 
the  children’s  study. 

The  accompanying  drawing  illustrates  the  manner  in  which 
the  sleeping  porches  can  be  overseen  from  the  officers’  apart- 
ments. 

This  cottage  is  planned  to  be  built  of  glazed  hollow  tile,  with 
floors  of  hollow  tile  and  reinforced  concrete.  This  construction 
will  apply  to  the  sleeping  porches  as  well  as  to  the  central  portion 
of  the  cottage.  It  will  apply  also  to  the  second-story  ceilings. 
The  roof  will  be  of  tile,  wooden  joists  and  roof  boards.  The 
wooden  portion  of  the  roof  will  be  the  only  inflammable  part  of 
the  building,  except  the  doors,  windows  and  maple  floors  for 
the  children’s  study  and  officers’  apartments. 

The  cost  of  this  cottage  has  been  carefully  estimated  by  the 
architect,  the  figures  for  the  tiles,  cement  and  mason  work  being 
based  on  actual  bids,  and  the  figures  for  the  plumbing,  woodwork, 
roof  work,  metal  work,  etc.,  being  based  on  the  architect’s 
experience  in  similar  buildings.  The  entire  estimated  cost  is 

6 


$11,100.  The  cost  of  this  cottage  could  be  much  reduced  in 
some  places,  by  building  of  wood,  as  has  been  done  at  the  Good 
Will  Farm,  Hinckley,  Maine,  and  the  State  Agricultural  and 
Industrial  School  at  Industry,  N.  Y.;  but  it  is  believed  that,  in 
the  long  run,  the  fireproof  construction  will  be  both  cheaper 
and  more  sanitary. 

The  commission  appointed  to  select  a site,  and  make 
preliminary  plans  for  the  New  York  State  d raining  School  for 
Boys,  has  estimated  the  cost  of  building  fifty  dormitory  cottages 


for  sixteen  boys  each,  at  $1 1,000  per  cottage.  This  cottage  will 
cost  the  same,  and  will  provide  for  twenty  children  instead  of 
sixteen,  which  is  an  increase  of  25  per  cent  in  capacity. 

We  are  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  within  a few  years  new 
institutions  for  children  will  provide  outdoor  sleeping  for  at  least 
the  majority  of  the  inmates.  We  are  not  prepared  at  this  time 
to  make  a sweeping  recommendation,  but  have  no  hesitation 
in  expressing  the  belief  that  outdoor  sleeping  accommodation 
should  be  provided  for  at  least  25  per  cent  of  the  children  in  the 
average  juvenile  reformatory,  or  home  for  dependent  children. 

7 


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